Life ain't easy as Bodyguard
by AngelofAme
Summary: John got Oliver a job as a bodyguard for Miss Smoak. But he was too late to find out that it is her 6 year old Joanna and not Felicity that he was going to protect.
1. An interesting Job offer

An interesting job offer

Oliver sighed, he couldn't believe this was happening to him. He had just lost his job as a bodyguard to an important politician due to the client's wife falsely accusing him of sexual harassment. He should've known it would come to this when she kept making overt passes at him; finally when he refused to sleep with her, she made sure he would get fired. Apparently no one rejects Mrs. (Name). Luckily the (senator/congressman) decided not to make the affair public or press any charges, as there was no actual evidence. Oliver suspected that his boss, Slade Wilson, was behind the cover-up too, as the security firm could not afford any bad publicity right now. However despite his innocence in the matter, and his dedicated and consistent work etiquette, he was fired from his job.

Which brings him here, at the Diggles' doorstep for his weekly dinners with the family.

"Hey Oliver", Lyla greeted him when she opened the door. Oliver hugged her before following her into the living room, and was ambushed by his eager goddaughter. He played with little Sara until John came in, greeting Oliver with a clap on the shoulder and announcing that dinner was ready.

For the rest of dinner, Oliver enjoyed the Diggles' company, making small talk with John and Lyla, and entertaining Sara.

After dinner, Lyla took Sara for bath time, while John and Oliver got comfortable on the couch.

"So you wanna talk about what's bothering you yet?", John asked.

Oliver took a long sip of his beer before answering, "I was fired today."

John raised his eyebrow, unable to contain his surprise at the news. "Explain!"

"The client's wife wanted me to sleep with her. I refused. She did not appreciate that, so she told her husband that I sexually harassed her. Slade worked out things with the client so that nothing is released to the press and the company can save face, but I was fired as a consequence," Oliver elaborated.

John looked at him pityingly. "That's harsh, man."

Oliver nodded and took another sip of his beer, and John did the same, both of them sitting in silence until Lyla entered the room. "Why do you two look so depressed?"

"Oliver lost his job," John answered her.

Lyla looked at Oliver, contemplating, "Johnny, didn't you mention, yesterday, that your boss was looking for a new bodyguard? Oliver would be perfect for the job, maybe you could recommend him?"

"Hmm...That's what I thought too." John turned to Oliver, with a glint in his eye, "I'll talk to Miss Smoak tomorrow and call you sometime in the afternoon. Okay?"

Oliver nodded, "Thank you, Digg. I really appreciate the help."

X-X-X

"Joanna, we have to go," Felicity called through the house. She had her heels in her hand, searching for her six year old daughter.

"Coming, Mommy." Her daughter yelled back, streaking towards the door, a few moments later.

Felicity loaded her energetic daughter into the car, dropping her off for school. Ten minutes later she was in her office. She had founded her company, Smoak Technology, three years ago. At the time she started with only five employees, but now she had almost five hundred employees working for her. Smoak Tech, was her pride and joy (after Joanna, of course) and she had worked hard as the CEO to bring it to the forefront of cyber securities and technology. Eventually they started branching into more diverse applied science fields, leading to the company's rapid growth and success.

"Mr. Diggle would like to speak with you, when you have a few minutes." Gerry, her assistant, informed her over the intercom, once she was settled in behind her desk.

"Send him in, Gerry. Thanks."

The door opened and her head of security stepped in. "Hello, John. Sit down, please!" Felicity said, smiling at him.

"Good Morning Felicity. Thanks for seeing me so early", John replied, as he took a seat. "I have a candidate for Joanna's bodyguard. Oliver Queen; he's a good friend of mine, served with me, in fact, and is on the lookout for a new job. He is an excellent bodyguard; good training, professional, sharp and vigilant and can be very good with children. I think he'd be perfect for her security."

"Do you trust him?" She checked, as she considered John's pitch.

"I do, with my life and the lives of my family." He answered.

"I would feel more comfortable if I got to meet and interview him personally. Can you ask him to meet me at eleven tomorrow morning?" She offered.

"Will do!" John replied, as he took his leave.

Felicity opened a new search window on her computer, typing in 'Oliver Queen'. She trusted John without a doubt. If he said that this man was the best suited for the job, then he probably was, which is why she didn't feel the need to conduct an extensive background check. But this was for her baby girl's safety and she would feel much better if she knew more about the man. So she started a basic search and managed to stumble upon a lot of information.

"Oliver Queen, 30 years, born and raised in Starling City, eldest child of billionaire Robert Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated, and Moira Queen. Known for his escapades with a revolving door of women, and drunken antics leading to brushes with the law, college drop-out. Enlisted for the military after the death of his best friend, Tommy Merlyn, honorably discharged after ten years of service, worked until very recently for Wilson Security." She read out to herself, skimming through the highlights of information and years old gossip articles. She also only found old pictures of him, but no recent ones, he clearly kept out of the public view these days. She hoped she wasn't about to hire a man who looked like a serial killer on drugs to guard her baby.

X-X-X

Oliver entered the Smoak Technology building at a quarter to eleven. He walked up to the front desk, "Hello, my name is Oliver Queen. I have an appointment with Miss Smoak at eleven."

The woman behind the table signaled him to wait a for moment, picking up the phone.

"There is an Oliver Queen for Miss Smoak." She waited while the person on the other end spoke.

"Okay, I'll tell him."

Oliver was tense, his fingers rubbing together in his usual nervous tic, as he waited on her.

"You need to wait here for a moment, Mr. Queen. Someone will pick you up soon," The receptionist informed him.

Oliver nodded and thanked her. He adjusted his tie, and recalled once more what he knew about Miss Smoak.

Felicity Smoak, 27, born and raised in Las Vegas, graduated high school at 16, graduated summa cum laude from MIT with a master's degree in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences, gave birth to her daughter Joanna Smoak the following year, whose father is unknown and founded Smoak Technology in 2013.

"Mr. Queen!" A male voice broke him out of his musings. A man with dark hair, stood before him, "My name is Gerry Conway. I'm Miss Smoak's executive assistant. If you would, just follow me please!"

Oliver flashed a tense smile at the man, following him along to the office of his (hopefully) new employer. Oliver surveyed the path they followed for all possible exit points and danger zones, paying similar attention to the new floor and office he stepped into. Mr. Conway closed the door behind him, while Oliver finished his thorough scan of the room. This was a habit developed from his time in the military, and one that was extremely essential as a bodyguard. After he had made sure that everything was in order, he looked over to the desk. Behind it sat a petite woman with blond hair and glasses, who stared at him with an open mouth.

"John didn't tell me how handsome you are." She mumbled. Immediately, she seemed to have realized what she had said and blushed brightly. "Did I say that out loud? Of course I said that out loud. Not that you are not good looking, even captivating. I already said that, but I didn't mean it like that… I'm not making a pass at you… Not that I wouldn't… I was just observing… Not appreciating... But that's not why you're here. You're here because of the bodyguard position and not to listen to me babble about your body. And I'm gonna stop talking in 3 ... 2 ... 1 " She bit her lower lip to suppress another flood of words.

Oliver could not hold back a smile. While her initial reaction had made him wary, her ensuing 'babble'(as she called it) was different and frankly a bit endearing. This woman was refreshing.

He held out his hand. "Oliver Queen, Miss Smoak."

She stared surprised at his hand, her eyes moving back to his face, then his hand again. "You still want to work for me even after being subjected to my word vomit?" She rechecked.

Oliver nodded. She stared at him perplexed, then shook her head and pressed a button on her intercom. "Gerry, please bring Mr. Queen's work contract." Then she turned back to him.

Oliver stared at her in surprise. "I have the job?"

She nodded. "John said you were the best for the job and I trust him." Felicity had just wanted to meet the man and assess her comfort levels at leaving her daughter with him. The way he had analyzed every part of the room, reassured her that he would be able to keep Joanna safe and hadn't got any negative vibes from him. Of course, the way he had reacted to and just side-stepped her embarrassing babble served to confirm her decision. Well, that along with the fact that he was not sporting the serial killer look anymore.

Mr. Conway brought in the paperwork. Oliver scanned the contract carefully, as a son of a successful businessman, knowing to pay attention to the details of a contract before signing it. He found no issues with the agreement, which was pretty standard- he would be working every weekday, and every second saturday, sundays were free, and would be living with the Smoaks. He signed it and handed the papers back to Miss Smoak.

As she rechecked and cross-signed the papers, Miss Smoak informed him, "So tomorrow is Saturday, you can start moving in. I'll ask to John to help you get settled in and show you around both the office and the house. Gerry will also take you to HR to finish some other formalities. I expect you at noon tomorrow for lunch, and make sure you have a few hours so you can get to know Joanna. I'll also explain Joanna's daily routine tomorrow. You'll start on Monday. Any questions?"

"Would you be outlining your daily routine as well, since I have to protect you?" Oliver verified with her.

She looked at him surprised. "Didn't John tell you? Your job will be to protect my daughter, not me."


	2. Full of Surprises

Full of Surprises

Oliver found himself at the Diggles' front door, in a slightly disturbed state of mind, for the second time that week. Lyla answered the door with a knowing smile and told him, "He's in the living room."

He crossed the hallway with quick steps entering the living room to find John on the couch, beer in hand and a recorded football game on the television. Oliver dropped down beside him.

"And how was it?" Digg inquired.

Oliver shot him an incredulous look, "You know exactly how it went," he grumbled. "Why didn't you tell me that I had to play nanny for a six year old?"

"Would it have made a difference? You needed a job. Now you have one." John replied, barely holding in his amusement.

"I could have been better prepared for it." So maybe Oliver was still sulking a little bit. But he felt somewhat justified, after all his training and experience, he had just accepted a job as a glorified babysitter. Not that working for the Smoak family was going to be too much of a hardship, if Felicity Smoak was anything to go by. She didn't seem like someone who would raise a bratty kid, but then again kids could be unpredictable. He still remembered what a terror Thea had been for her various nannies and babysitters, and he only hoped Joanna wasn't as much of a handful.

John chuckled, unable to resist when he sees Oliver pouting. "Joanna is a sweetheart. She is well-mannered, not too demanding and has certainly inherited her mother's charm. You're going to like her," he reassured Oliver.

"If you say so, John, but an early warning would have been nice anyway." Oliver strongly felt that this point needed to be conveyed to his friend, who seemed to be having far too much fun at his expense. Sighing, he turned his attention to the game playing on the television. "Man, you know the Stags played like crap in this game, why are you subjecting yourself to this embarrassment?"

John groaned and turned the television off. "Stupid team loyalties."

Oliver grinned, "You're welcome."

X-X-X

Felicity was nervous about this meeting between Joanna and Mr. Queen. She had not yet told her daughter about her new bodyguard and all she could think of was- how would Joanna react to having a complete stranger accompany her throughout the day everywhere? She hoped her animated and vivacious daughter would be excited about making a new friend and having someone who she could constantly chatter away to. She had wanted them to meet in the familiar environment of her home to ease Joanna into this new change, somewhere she would feel comfortable and safe. She glanced at Joanna who watching some cartoons in the living room; she hated that she had to resort extreme measures, would be instilling this fear of the unknown world- that may want to harm them- in her daughter at such a young age.

Felicity had briefly toyed with the idea of introducing Mr. Queen as her boyfriend, who would be moving in with them, as a way to avoid exposing her daughter to the fear and anxiety that came along with the knowledge of these threats. But she dismissed the thought quickly because 1. She couldn't lie to her daughter and Joanna would see through it immediately, 2. Their relationship was built on honesty, trust and respect and she did not want to destroy that. She also believed that by being honest with Joanna they could prepare her better for dangerous situations and she would understand and cooperate better with any rules, and it would also make it easier for Joanna to share any fears or uneasy feelings.

Of course there was also the fact that she had neither discussed this idea with Mr. Queen, nor did she want to burden him with such a complicated charade. Not to mention how completely awkward she could be, and how capable would be of making that particular situation uncomfortable with her inappropriate babbling and broken brain-to-mouth filter.

She couldn't deny part of her nerves came from the situation she was exposing herself and Joanna to, letting a relative stranger intrude into their lives. It had just been the two of them for so long; relationships not something that were her priority or something she had time for. Every now and then she would go on dates and maybe some would progress to a second one, but nothing substantial had ever developed. She didn't mind though, she was completely happy focusing on Joanna and avoiding a repeat of the kind of relationship she had with Joanna's father.

It also didn't help at all that Oliver Queen was an extremely handsome man, whom she would be living in extremely close quarters with. She would make a fool out of herself in front of him, of that she was sure. It was just a matter of time. But she had decided that she would try and watch herself and make sure to be professional around him- even if that meant being reserved in her own home- as he was crucial to Joanna's safety and she couldn't afford to scare him away.

She glanced at the clock. It was five minutes to twelve. She surveyed the open ground floor, making sure everything was in order- the kitchen was tidy and mostly unused. From her position behind the counter, she could see the entire living room. She had loved the house when she first saw it, with its floor to ceiling windows there was a lot of light (which was great for someone like her who could get lost in her various electronic screens for hours), the open design allowing the light to spread through the entire floor and had the advantage of being able to keep an eye on Joanna from anywhere on the floor. She, now, wondered if this house wouldn't be considered a tactical nightmare by the new bodyguard.

She went back to silently observing her daughter, watching her or being in her presence always filled her with a kind of peace and happiness that was impossible to compete with. Joanna had grown up remarkably well despite having her as a mother. Felicity had faced a lot of anxiety and insecurities throughout her pregnancy, she worried constantly that she would totally screw up, that she would drop her child on its head, that she couldn't take care of them, couldn't provide for them or give them a good and happy life.

Because who hired a heavily-pregnant barely 20 year old or a single parent with a newborn infant, even one with her qualifications. She was so sure that she would never find a job, that no company would want to hire someone who had so many limitations on their time, was resigned to her fate of going back to Vegas and moving in with her mom. But she had been seriously mistaken or seriously lucky, because she had caught the eye of Walter Steele- vice president of Queen Consolidated- who valued her qualifications over all else and gave her a few projects as freelancer.

So she had moved to Star City, where she could work on the projects from home and was able to decide her own hours. Her mother had been amazing throughout, even giving up her job and life in Vegas, to move with Felicity and Joanna to Star City. Donna Smoak had been a huge support through her pregnancy, had supported her when she had made the hard choice of keeping and raising the baby on her own and was a crazy loving and doting grandmother to Joanna. Joanna had been such a blessing in every way, but especially in mending the relationship between Felicity and her own mother and making their bond even stronger.

As Felicity founded and worked on establishing her own company, and Joanna became old enough to attend pre-school, Donna moved in with her then-boyfriend, now-husband Quentin Lance. The two had met at the police precinct, where Quentin worked. Donna was involved in a minor car accident and he was the lead detective on the case. That reminded Felicity, she should probably tell her mother about the new arrangement, otherwise her next visit would be highly embarrassing.

Donna being Donna would, of course, not care that Mr. Queen was only Joanna's bodyguard. She would be over the moon to see a man in Felicity's life even if he was working for her. It was, as she always said, about the unexplored potential that was there, and she would try to persuade Felicity into going out with the man. Her mother knew all the tricks in the book, including the under-handed approach of using Joanna. But before Felicity could get a panic attack about her mother, the bell rang. She hurried to open the door for Mr. Queen. Damn she'd been hoping she'd exaggerated, in her head, how handsome he was, this was going to be a total disaster.

X-X-X

Miss Smoak stepped to the side, ushering Oliver into the house. She led him to the kitchen, while offering, "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, tea, or water?"

"Water is fine, thanks."

While she got a glass from the cupboard and filled it up, Oliver took in the structure of the ground floor. He wasn't too happy about the windows, they were an easy target for a sniper. Maybe he should ask Miss Smoak to switch the glass to a bulletproof kind. The open-floor plan made it easy to spot threats but would make it hard to find cover in case of emergency. He compiled a list in his head of potential security risks and what he wanted to change.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." A voice said next to the counter. Oliver looked down and there stood Joanna Smoak, who seemed to be studying him closely.

"Alright, I was just waiting for Mr. Queen. He's going to be having lunch with us, so we'll order something right away, okay?" Felicity replied, as she handed Oliver his water.

"Order?" Oliver looked from Joanna to Felicity, wondering how exactly to manage security with delivery guys.

"Mommy can't cook, just like grandma. Not even Uncle Barry would touch her food and Uncle Barry eats everything." Joanna replies, before Felicity even gets a chance to say anything.

Oliver raised his eyebrow at Felicity. "Seriously?" Oh wow, it was worse than he thought, he would apparently have to monitor the delivery guys and the food packages they bring everyday.

Felicity shrugged, casually adding, "She's right. I burn even water."

Oliver stared at her in disbelief, jolted out of his thoughts by Joanna's next question.

"Mommy is he my bodyguard?" She asked with a very innocent look on her face, possibly a fake one, if the disbelieving and puzzled look on her mother's face was anything to go by. She then proceeded to declare, "I'm not stupid, you know. I'm six after all. And I heard you talking to Mr. Diggle."

Felicity still looked a little stunned, but she managed to collect herself. "Joanna, you know it's not nice to listen in on people's conversations. But yes, Mr. Queen is going to be with you all day and protect you, and he is also going to be staying with us for some time." She looked like she was bracing herself, and made sure to look Joanna straight in the eye, holding onto the little girl's shoulders and bending towards her, "There are some mean people who have been saying some not-so-nice things about us and sending us mean messages, okay? I don't want you to worry, but I do need you to be safe. So Mr. Queen is going to help us with that." Giving her a stern look, she continues, "You need to listen to what Mr. Queen says and follow his rules. He's very good at what he does, but that will only work if you listen to him carefully, yes?"

Joanna nodded seriously, she looked a little unsure about all the new information, but seemed to trust her mother's judgement. Oliver observed the way Felicity broke down the information and was honest with her daughter. That was something sorely lacking in his own childhood, and he was impressed by both mother and daughter at being able to dish out and accept the hard truths. It made him realize, this probably would be expected of him as well, from Felicity as well as Joanna. While with Felicity, he was obligated to provide all the information, he would have to curb his tendency to hide details in order to protect her with Joanna.

Oliver knelt down in front of her, once Felicity stepped away, so that he was at her eye level. He felt this need to reassure the little girl and also put her at ease. So he held out his hand, "My name is Oliver Queen, and from Monday on I am your bodyguard. I'll do the best I can at my job, and won't let anything happen to you, promise."

She put her tiny hand in his and shook it firmly, "Joanna Smoak. Nice to meet you Mr. Queen."

Then she turned to her mother. "I want pizza, please."

Felicity pulled open a drawer, filled with takeout menus, and pulled out one. "Salami?"

Joanna nodded and moved back towards the couch. Felicity then placed the menu before Oliver, "Please stay for lunch, you can talk some more with Joanna and get to know her. What can I order for you? "

He took the offered menu with a, "Thank you, Miss Smoak."

"Felicity"

He looked at her perplexed. She blushed, embarrassed as she smoothed her already neat ponytail.

"Miss Smoak makes me feel old."

He grinned. "Okay Felicity. Then please call me Oliver."

She smiled back at him, "So what do you want to eat, Oliver? The pepperoni pizza is superb."


	3. Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine

Oliver jolted awake, the usual way in which he woke up ever since his first tour. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, relaxing his tensed muscles. He opened his eyes again and got out of the bed. It was half past five in the morning, the usual time he woke up for his morning jog. He changed into his running clothes and walked out of his room. He passed by Joanna's open room door and peeked in to make sure she was okay and found her sound asleep and safe in her bed, snuggled up with her stuffed dragon Toothless, who Felicity explained to him was a character from Joanna's favorite movie, and to be prepared that he will end up watching it multiple times. He quietly did a quick sweep of the house, nodding at the night guard on duty as he left for his morning run.

He had found a good jogging route in the area, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early hours and as he tried to outrun his haunted dreams. He returned an hour later, exchanging a few words with the night guard and relieving him of his duty. Taking a deep breath he walked into the house; this was the official start of his first day at the new job.

He was opening the fridge to get a bottle of water when he noticed Felicity coming down the stairs in her pajamas. She looked all sleep-rumpled, her eyes still half-closed as she stumbled a bit. It was frankly _adorable_ , a word he had never really used before for any other women, but was beginning to think would become a frequent part of his mental vocabulary where the Smoak women were considered.

She continued walking right past where he was standing without any acknowledgement and straight to the coffee maker. He wasn't sure if she was knew he was there and was ignoring him for the moment or if in her half-asleep state she was completely oblivious to the fact that someone else was around.

And _no_ , he wasn't going to stand there and analyze why exactly the thought of her deliberately ignoring his presence bothered him so much, or why he found her adorable. No, instead he was going to focus on the fact that she obviously needed some training in awareness of her surroundings.

Oliver watched on as she started the coffee machine and poured herself a cup in a weird blue box-shaped mug, and then as she gulped down at least half of the cup. She then closed her eyes and took a slower sip, moaning at the taste of the rich coffee.

Oliver gaped at her, the sound she made making him a bit uncomfortable- in ways he was _not_ going to think about- and cleared his throat to get her attention. He succeeded. Felicity's eyes popped open in surprise, her lips forming a perfect O shape as she realized she was not alone while she took pleasure in her morning coffee. A bright blush colored her face, but she still caught herself quickly.

"Good morning, Oliver. Coffee?"

Oliver held up his water bottle. "I'm covered."

Felicity nodded. "Okay, then I'm going back upstairs, take a shower. Not that you would have to know that. Although it is good that you know that." Her eyes widened at her words, blushing redder as she scrambled to clarify, "That was not like a suggestion, like a suggestive thing for you to come into the bathroom while I'm showering, I'm not hitting on you, or thinking of you in the shower… Or here! Oh god, what I meant was you look like you could use a shower. I don't mean that you're dirty or stink! You're just pretty sweaty. So you could use a shower, which will be separately from mine."

She broke off abruptly, closing her eyes and counting down from 3 under her breath. Oliver put her out of her misery by asking, "When will Joanna be up?"

Felicity looked at the clock, grateful for the subject change. "I always wake her up at seven. So we're ready at eight o'clock."

She finished her coffee, not meeting his eyes, "I'll go take a shower," she said again and then immediately face-palmed, her eyes scrunched shut tightly as if she was trying to erase this whole encounter from existence. She practically ran out of the kitchen and scurried up the stairs, going out of her way to avoid him.

Oliver decided to do the same, throwing away the empty water bottle, smiling a bit as he recalled her 'not-suggestive suggestion'. At first he was pretty unsure about Felicity's babbles, torn between absolute bewilderment accompanied by some awkwardness and slight amusement. After observing her and being around her for the past two days, he realized that she wasn't trying to overtly come onto him, her amazing mind just tended to move way too quickly for her mouth and often got her into trouble with people who just couldn't think as fast as her. Now he was mostly just amused, well when her innuendo-riddled speech didn't fluster _him_. On the way to the guest bathroom, he checked again on Joanna. She was still asleep.

* * *

"Joanna, honey, wake up!" Her mother's sing-song voice cut through the fog of sleepiness that still held Joanna captive. She rolled over, turning her back to the voice and squeezing her eyes shut, as if that would prevent her mother from pulling her out of her pleasant sleep.

"Joanna!" Felicity's voice was very close to Joanna's face now, and before she could hide away again, the blanket was pulled away and fingers danced over Joanna's belly. She shrieked with laughter as her mother tickled her without mercy, wide awake now, Joanna tried to fight back. After five minutes of a tickling battle, a truce was declared. Felicity sat up and pulled Joanna up as well. "Come on, honey, time to get ready."

Joanna ran over to her wardrobe and pulled out a white dress with black polka dots, a band around the waist with a bow. "Can I wear this, Mommy?"

Felicity nodded. "Of course you can."

She herded Joanna into the bathroom for a quick shower, making sure her school bag and bag for ballet class was ready. After helping Joanna wash her face and fixing her hair, Joanna's bed was made jointly, Toothless returned back to his regular daytime spot, before they headed downstairs for breakfast.

Joanna hopped the stairs down, her white hair bow bouncing along with every step, with her mother following right behind her carrying Joanna's two bags along with her own purse. When they got to the kitchen they saw Oliver dressed in a suit and seated at the table. He was looking through his phone while sipping his coffee. Joanna hopped onto a stool beside him, wishing him a good morning.

"Mommy, I would like the cereal with the little cookies, please."

Oliver put his phone aside and observed the interaction between mother and daughter. Felicity grabbed two bowls from the cupboard, and put one in front of her daughter and the other directly across from Joanna.

"What can I get you, Oliver?" Felicity asked as she put the box of cereal in front of Joanna, who eagerly reached for it and filled her bowl.

"Nothing. Thanks for asking." Oliver answered her. She shot him a look- one he'd already seen her use on Joanna- and he breathed out a little laugh, "I'm okay for now, really."

Felicity nodded and poured some milk into both the bowls and then turned back to Oliver, "If you want something in particular for breakfast, we can stop by the supermarket to get it after work."

Joanna who was already devouring her breakfast, blinked innocently up at Felicity, "Mommy, can we get chocolate pudding?"

Felicity gave her a stern look. "Nice try missy, but you still have your stracciatella-yogurt, which you have to finish first."

Joanna pouted and grumbled in her cereal, making Oliver smile. "That's not necessary, Felicity, but thank you."

* * *

Oliver navigated the SUV smoothly through the morning traffic, while Joanna hummed along to the radio in her car seat in the back, Felicity was in the passenger seat alternating between muttering somewhat angrily at her tablet and carrying out a cheerful conversation with Joanna. He parked in front of the school and opened Joanna's car door. Joanna seemed to be having difficulties unbuckling herself, so Oliver moved towards her. "Do you need help?"

Joanna determinedly shook her head and tried it again and again, but after a few minutes she looked at him helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. "Can you please help me, Mr. Queen?"

Oliver unfastened her seat belt. "There, now you're free." He grinned and stepped to the side, to let her out of the car.

Joanna grabbed her school bag and jumped out of the car, "Thank you, Mr. Queen." She then ran towards her mother, who was waiting for them.

Oliver, moving towards them at a more sedate pace, was about to respond when Joanna ran off all of a sudden.

"Joanna!" Felicity called after her, her voicing raising in volume and shifting to a sterner tone, that made the younger girl stop in her tracks.

"But Mommy, Marly's over there."

Felicity walked over to her daughter, "We talked about the new rules this weekend." Her tone indicating that she expected an answer.

Joanna replied promptly, "No running off or going anywhere without you or Oliver."

"That stays the same anywhere you go, is that understood? Plus you know you're not supposed to run when there are cars around." Felicity added.

Joanna nodded and looked apologetically at Felicity, "Sorry Mommy. I just wanted to see Marly, can we please go there now?" She continued, drawing out the syllables in her 'please'. Felicity shook her head exasperatedly, grabbing her daughter's hand, as they both started walking towards the school entrance.

Oliver had stood at a distance, observing his surroundings keenly, to atleast try and give the mother and daughter some semblance of privacy. He felt a little awkward being privy to his young charge getting scolded, albeit for a good reason. It also brought along the realization that he would be intruding on many more personal moments and would be exposed to a lot of the tricky situations that came along with raising a young child. But he appreciated that Felicity made the effort to simplify and enforce new rules, it would make things a lot easier for him when dealing with Joanna.

He followed along behind the pair as they made their way to a tall, dark-skinned man next to his daughter who was in a wheelchair. When they were closer to the two, Felicity let go of Joanna's hand, who took that as her cue to skip over to her friend with an excited squeal. She was greeted with an equally excited and high-pitched sound, the two girls already chattering away, as Felicity greeted the man.

"Oliver, that's my vice president and close friend Curtis Holt. Curtis, this is Oliver Queen, Joanna's bodyguard." Felicity introduced, once he caught up to her.

"It is nice to meet you." Curtis held out his hand to Oliver, giving Oliver a pleasant smile and what looked like a once-over.

"Likewise" Oliver said to Curtis, shaking his hand firmly.

Felicity continued her round of introductions. "And that's Marly, Curtis' daughter and Joanna's best friend, if that wasn't already obvious," looking at the two hyperactive girls amusedly.

She then lightly touched Marly's arm, getting the little girl's attention, smiling at her. "Hi, kiddo! Marly, this is Oliver Queen. He's Joanna's bodyguard, which means he's supposed to protect her, so he'll be around a lot. And sometimes he'll drive the two of you to daycare as well, okay?"

Marly nodded and then looked shyly at Oliver, he smiled gently at her and said "Hello, Marly, it's nice to meet you." She gave a small answering wave in return with a soft "Hi."

Felicity clapped her hands together. "Alright now that everyone's met everyone else, let's go inside. We still have to fill out the paperwork and register Oliver for picking you guys up from school."

* * *

Oliver had drawn up a routine which he had instructed Joanna on, over the weekend. He would enter the room first, scanning the room for possible threats, and only when he gave the okay could she enter the room. Since it was the first day, he had a quick chat with the teacher while the students settled down, after which he left the room so as to not disrupt their lessons.

Right before the recess, when the kids were let out to the playground, Oliver went out and carefully surveyed the area. As per Felicity's instructions, he kept a discreet eye on Joanna while she was outside, to prevent hindering her interactions with her peers.

At the end of the school day, Oliver waited outside the classroom door for Joanna and Marly. While, on the days the girls didn't go to daycare, they were to usually wait for Curtis, Felicity had messaged him a while back that there was an emergency at the office and requested that he take Marly along with them to Joanna's ballet class. Oliver informed the girls, who were absolutely ecstatic over the prospect of spending more time together. As Joanna regaled her friend with tales from her ballet classes, Oliver set up the extra car seat for Marly.

He loaded both girls into the car and made a pit-stop to grab some snacks for the three of them, then he drove straight to ballet studio.

He let Joanna get out of the car first and she waited patiently next to him while he released Marly and got her into her wheelchair. They entered the studio, Oliver introducing himself to the ballet teacher.

She shot him a friendly smile in return, "Miss Smoak has already informed me that you would be present during the class."

Oliver surveyed the premises and examined the layout of the studio before giving his okay to Joanna, who immediately disappeared into the locker rooms.

Slowly, the room filled with pink tutus while Oliver and Marly sat in the waiting area which had a window for observing the class. For a few minutes Marly kept herself busy with some children's books that were placed on the table, but then she put them aside and wheeled herself closer to the window to watch the class. She had a smile as she watched Joanna dance, almost like she was in awe of how graceful her friend was, but as she moved her gaze to all the other little girls jumping around and having fun, her expression changed to one of wistfulness. Oliver stood up and walked over to her.

"Hey Marley. You okay?"

Marley nodded sadly, but turning away from the window. She looked at him hesitantly, like she wanted to ask him something. He smiled at her and looked at her encouragingly. She swallowed, and then a little louder asked, "Can you tell me a story? My uncles always tell me one when I'm sad."

Oliver ran his hand through his hair, rubbing at the back of his neck. He wasn't really knowledgeable about any kids stories and as his sister always teased him, he was pretty behind on the latest popular culture too. And he really didn't think any of his personal stories would be appropriate for a seven year old. The real reason, though he tried to bury it down most days, was that he still felt off-balance with kids. It had been a while since he'd come back from the war and he had managed to relearn how to interact with people and to cope with everything he had been through. But somehow he couldn't get rid off that feeling that he had to protect people from himself, from all the violence within him and all the things he had done. In his darkest and most introspective hours, he acknowledged that more often than not, he was terrified that people who interacted or knew him would be terrified of him, and it was this fear that he shrouded as a protective instinct. That fear was most intensified around kids, who somehow managed to see through layers of bullshit down to the very core of the person you were, and he was afraid that he would be the monster in their nightmares. While he had been slowly working through that fear for Thea and even learning a new normal with Baby Sara, he was still unsure and hesitant around other kids. Which is what led him to answer, "Marley, I'm not really good at telling stories."

Marly lowered her head in disappointment, her little face still painted with intense sadness, eyes watering with tears. And God, he felt like such a tool, what kind of asshole was he that he couldn't bring himself to tell some funny story and let go just a bit in order to alleviate some of her sadness. He needed to suck it up, he'd be damned if he made her cry when he could do something to make her feel better. So he quickly added, "Or how about we make up a story together?"

She looked at him quizzically. "How would that work?"

He thought for a moment before answering, "We can take turns and um continue from what the other person said? Like if I start with: Once upon a time ..." He knew he sounded more questioning and uncertain than as if he knew what he was doing it, but what the hell he might as well just go along with this. So he looked searchingly around the room for some inspirations, his gaze landing on the image of a carrot in a framed, self-painted picture of a rabbit. "... there was a bunny who was looking for the most delicious carrot. He searched and searched in his homeland, but he did not find it. So he left his hometown to search all over the world. So now it's your turn."

Marley had a concentrated expression on her face, her tears and sadness disappearing, as she tried to come up with something to continue the story. So, mission accomplished!

* * *

Later that evening as Felicity was putting Joanna to bed, Oliver sat at the kitchen counter, hunched over his laptop, seemingly absorbed with working on something. When Felicity came down the stairs, she just stopped and took in the man her daughter couldn't stop talking about. It was a wonder that Joanna hadn't demanded that Oliver do a"build-it-yourself story" with her, the second-hand encounter all she heard about from Joanna in the car ride home. Sometimes she marvelled at the way Joanna and Marley managed to immediately and fully communicate their newest experience to each other.

Oliver finally shut his laptop and pushed it aside. He looked up directly at her, surprising her, he apparently hadn't been as absorbed in his work as she thought or he had some kind of ninja awareness that was always on. Being on and alert all the time like that couldn't possibly be easy and she wondered if it didn't take a toll on him. He looked at her expectantly as if he was waiting for her. Right, they were supposed to debrief- which was totally innocent and not anything related to taking off their clothing. It was about his mission, well not mission- his job, which was being a bodyguard for her six year old. Yeah, it didn't escape her exactly how ridiculous that sounded sometimes, but it was necessary. And they should get back to that, her being his extremely professional employer who is not thinking about debriefing in any way other than related to the job. She heard Oliver clearing his throat, probably to get her attention, since she got lost in her thoughts once again. Great, he probably thinks she's a nut job now, hopefully she didn't voice any of her weird mental babbles aloud; his face wasn't giving her any indication that she did, so she moved on to their pending discussion.

"She's finally asleep. You would think all that dancing and then playing would tire her out, but she still refused to fall asleep. She thinks you're totally awesome though, so that's a win." She sat down opposite him. "Did she behave? Any problems?"

Oliver leaned back in his own chair, "She was great, much better than I expected from a kid that age." At Felicity's questioning look, he clarified, "Let's just say, my sister was more than a handful at that age. She was like a tornado, still kind of is."

Felicity nodded with a smile, but before she could continue to ask him about the security. Oliver looked at her contemplatively, "Can Marley walk?"

Felicity looked at him in surprise. Realizing that he may be overstepping, he kind of backtracked and tried to explain his question, "Sorry, I don't mean to overstep or anything, it's just that when she saw Joanna dancing, she looked so sad. So I was just wondering if it was a recent injury, if it's permanent or temporary."

Felicity swallowed, wondering what to tell him, before she answered, "Marley lost her parents when she was three in a serious car accident. But her spine was severely injured. Paul- that's Curtis' husband- was her godfather actually and they both decided to adopt her. They've been trying different therapies and treatments occasionally, some of them have worked a bit- since she's young and heals fast- but nothing miraculous, you know. She's an incredibly strong kid, though, and so loving too. It makes me incredibly happy to see the way she bonded so strongly with Joanna, like she's her support system you know?" Oliver nodded thoughtfully. "That kind of friendship is kind of rare between kids, but I'm glad Joanna could find it. And I think Joanna was really great for Marley too. The first time they met was a few months after the accident, Marley was still scared and not really too communicative, but then Joanna talked at her- as you've seen my daughter is prone to do- and she was the first person to make Marley smile. Joanna was so proud of herself for that, she still regards it as her biggest accomplishment. After that, once the two of them started talking, they haven't stopped. They have daily scheduled phone calls too." She laughs a little at that, surprisingly Oliver laughs too- well it's more his approximation of a laugh she guesses, a heavier breath with this cute smile and oh dimples right there. She doesn't think she's seen him laugh since she's met him, and she's struck for a moment at the picture he presents, wonders what it would be like to hear and see him really laugh, how devastatingly beautiful he would look. She shakes those thoughts away, also realizing the huge rambling explanation she unloaded on him. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to know all of that. I tend to talk a lot, as you probably may have noticed."

Oliver shook his head, seemingly dismissing her apology, "No, it's fine. It is nice to hear about such an amazing friendship, and I think both the girls will definitely be better for it." Hearing about the kind of bond Marley and Joanna had, reminded him of two other children with an equally strong bond, the kind of friends that would do anything for each other; and the kind of friendship where losing the other would completely leave the person adrift. Maybe that was what had struck him so much when watching Joanna and Marley interact. Why he had the feeling that Marley was as important to keep safe as Joanna, and why he so readily integrated it into his job. Along with that also came that pang of longing and sorrow that was ever present since… No, he wasn't going to go down memory lane, not right now. He had a conversation to finish and an important question to ask.

He turned back to his laptop, opening it and showing her the page he had pulled up. It was a page dedicated to activities for children with disabilities, specifically physical activities. "Do you think Marley would be interested in wheelchair dancing? I think maybe she might enjoy it, and Joanna could do it along with her too. And its conducted by the veteran's association so it would also be a pretty safe location. What do you think, would it be okay to show this to Curtis and Paul?"

Felicity was staring at him, no it was straight out gawking. He started to feel a little self-conscious, rubbing his fingers against each other, and was about to renege on the whole thing, when she seemed to finally find her voice. "Yeah. Oliver, that would be a great idea. Really, it would be amazing. Marley would love it, I know that she really wanted to learn how to dance and was so excited for Joanna when she joined ballet."

Oliver sighed in relief, looking a little sheepish, he asked, "I'm not too sure how Curtis would receive this coming from me, so I was hoping you could help out with that?"

Felicity excitedly nodded her head, a huge beaming smile on her face. And _wow_ , he'd seen that smile on Joanna earlier today, now he knew where she got it from. And if he thought the copy brought him this unexpected and innate sense of content- at seeing so much happiness reflected in her little face- he was absolutely unprepared for the feeling the original brought out in him. He felt his breath leave him, finally letting himself think what he had been trying to avoid since he first met her. Felicity Smoak was breathtakingly gorgeous, the kind of beauty that grew the more she let you into her life and opened up to you. A dangerous kind of beauty if there ever was one.

He looked away, having to do so in order to pull himself together. He didn't know what was up with him today, why he was so emotional and allowing all these feelings, he usually kept under tight control, to be dredged up. He needed to get it back together, he couldn't afford to be swept under the current of his stronger emotions and long repressed memories- be it happy or sad. He had a job to do, make sure a sweet young kid, had the best chance of making it through whatever was threatening to hurt her. And something within him told him that he would not be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her, because of Joanna as well as because of her mother, who looked at him like she was trusting him to protect her whole world, the center of her universe. And he could not fail either of them.


	4. Little People Ask A Lot Of Questions

4\. Little People Ask A Whole Lot Of Questions

Oliver closed the front door behind him, placing his keys in the designated bowl. He had hoped he would be able to enjoy some of the early morning silence by himself, but was greeted with the sound of little feet pattering down the stairs and soft humming. He headed towards the living room and kitchen area, guessing that he would find Joanna. And there she was, still in her pajamas with her hair sticking up in five different directions, but looking very perky and wide awake.

"Good morning, Joanna. You're awake pretty early?" He couldn't help the hint of worry that seeped into his question. Yesterday was the first time that he had to take care of Joanna outside of his normal working hours, feeding her dinner and helping her with her bedtime routine. It was out of the norm for him and not something he had ever expected to do, causing his nervousness.

The day before, just when they were about to leave Felicity's office, her computer exploded with a dozen or so alerts informing her that someone was trying to breach the company's firewalls. Felicity and Curtis had jumped into action, frantically trying to ward off the attack and safeguard all their sensitive information. In the midst of all the commotion, Felicity had rattled off a whole list of instructions on Joanna's evening routine- not to let her watch TV for too long, no dinner in front of the TV, to get her in bed by 9 with her teeth brushed, face washed and hair brushed. He's mostly sure he had hit every item on the list, Joanna hadn't complained so he assumed he had done things right. But here she was, awake way earlier than her usual time.

"G'morning Oliver." Then her brows furrowing, "Why are you awake so early?" She questioned him as she hopped onto one of the stools.

It was uncanny sometimes how much she resembled her mother, especially some particular expressions- like this one- were almost identical. Her question, though, really shouldn't have surprised him. She was pretty curious, always trying to find out about things and people around her. He also got the feeling that she catalogued and processed the answers very carefully in her head to see if she was getting an accurate version. "I always wake up this early. Earlier, actually. I just came back from a run," he replied.

"You were awake even earlier than this?" She asked him skeptically. She actually narrowed her eyes at him then, as she continued, "Mommy says no one should be awake before 8 and some coffee on the weekend. She says it just doesn't make sense. Did you have coffee?" She asked him, suspiciously, as if, if he checked off one of the items on the list it would make his behaviour somewhat excusable.

Oliver had to suppress a chuckle as he very seriously answered her, "No, I didn't have any coffee." And then because he couldn't resist, he teased her, saying, "But you're awake before 8 and without coffee. Do you want some coffee?"

Her face scrunched up in distaste, "Nooo. I don't like coffee, and it's for old people, not me." Then her eyes widened, "Don't tell my mommy I said that, please," she requested, stretching out the please.

He smirked, "Okay, okay. Don't worry, I won't tell your mom that you called her old."

She looked shook her head and vehemently denied it, "Uh-uh I didn't say that. You said it."

She absolutely amused him with how quick and clever she was. He was surprised at how often she was able to turn the tables back on him, but it made their conversations quite fun. According to Felicity, this was a new thing Joanna had picked up. Apparently her lawyer aunt was teaching her about loopholes, is what he got from Felicity's grumbling under her breath. "Fine," he conceded, "We won't tell your mom about this whole coffee talk, deal?"

"Deal," she promptly replied with a firm nod of her head. "Is my mommy home?" She inquired.

"Yeah, but she came in pretty late," he informed her. Felicity had come home at 1 o'clock in the night, practically dragging herself through the house, mumbling a quick thank you and goodnight before disappearing up the stairs. He had gone to bed only after she had come back and then gotten up four and a half hours later for his morning run. It wasn't too bad considering he had survived on less sleep, but it was fortunate that there wasn't anything really exciting planned for the day.

He watched Joanna as she shifted slightly in her seat and then pouted, "I'm hungry, Oliver. But Mommy says that I shouldn't make breakfast by myself."

"I can make your breakfast, what would you like to eat?"

She wrinkled her nose in deep concentration, "Toast… With strawberry jam," she finished with a decisive nod.

Oliver pulled out the bread and put two slices into the toaster, he then got out the butter and requested jam and placed them on the table in front of Joanna. He took her plastic plate and knife, that she held out to him, while she climbed back onto her seat. He grabbed the toast, when they were ready, and put them on her plate. He watched as she slathered the butter on her toast with precision, opening the jar of jam and keeping it ready for her. She stuck her knife in, trying to collect some jam on it but it kept falling off. He watched in amusement as after a few unsuccessful tries she stared at the jar with a betrayed look on her face. Oliver handed her a teaspoon, "Here, try with this."

She took the spoon looking skeptical but then shrugged her shoulders, sticking the spoon in the jar and helping herself to huge dollops of her sweet prize. He wondered if he should be giving someone as hyperactive as her so much sugar so early in the morning, that too on a weekend. Well, there wasn't much he could do about it anymore. While she munched on her breakfast, he made himself a protein shake and settled with it across the table from her.

He was just considering how he could make her run some safety drills- maybe turning them into a game- to teach her what to do in specific dangerous situations and burn off some of that sugar from the jam she practically inhaled, when she finished her breakfast. She hopped off her seat and grabbed her plate, putting it in the sink, and then in a very serious tone demanded that he "Wait here," hastily adding a 'please' before she rushed off.

He watched as she tiptoed up the stairs, being careful to not disturb her mother, and then came back down a few minutes later- a yellow legal pad and pen clutched in her hands and a pair of glasses sitting precariously on her nose. She climbed onto her stool again and requested, "Sit down, please."

He stood still for a moment, honestly completely bewildered by this whole thing. She looked so freaking cute too, with her Olaf pajamas (and he still shuddered when he thought about the hours on end of repetitively watching Frozen with Sara, while he and Thea babysat her, that got him so well-acquainted with what exactly 'Olaf' was), wild curls and now the glasses with the no-nonsense look she had donned. If he were anyone else he'd probably be taking a hundred pictures of her by now, hell he was definitely tempted to, just to tease her. He collected himself and took his seat, deciding to humor her for now and see where this was going.

She rearranged her papers for a second, reminding him of the intimidation techniques used by lawyers or police interrogators sometimes. Then she looked over her glasses at him, in the same way he had seen Felicity do a few times, and said, "So, please state your full name for the record." She said it so precisely as though she was reciting from memory.

"Oliver Jonas Queen", she wrote it down carefully. She then moved on to asking basic questions about him, like date of birth, his school and college history, job history. She wrote down all his answers slowly and neatly, doing some subtraction to figure out how old he was, even. When he told her about his multiple failed college attempts and his not-so-great performance in school, she narrowed her eyes at him and promptly wrote down 'Oliver does not like to study'. He cautiously told her about when he joined the army and when he was discharged, and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't ask him about why he joined or left. He was a bit surprised that she didn't ask more questions about that, but then again even with her advancement for her age she was still quite young and probably didn't quite understand the significance and consequences of making that kind of decision. So far this was kind of like a standard interview, it seemed like she was making her own personal assessment about hiring him.

She then started asking him about his family- his parents and the sister he mentioned once. She made him tell her all of their names and wrote them down diligently, even checking the spelling with him. She threw him when she asked, "Are you married?"

He just blinked and very eloquently replied, "Huh?"

Looking at his expression, she concluded, "Not married?" He just shook his head in response. Then she threw another one at him, "Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?"

He spluttered at that, "Why are you asking me if I'm dating someone?"

Her brow furrows as she answers, "Mommy says that sometimes you just need to eat lots of ice cream and drink grown-up drinks and talk to your friends about your relationship woes." She says it slowly like she was reciting from memory, wobbling on the last two words, and he doesn't doubt that that was the exact phrasing Felicity used at some point. He doesn't quite know what to say to that. She looks at him earnest but shy and continues, "You're my friend and I wanted to know if you need ice cream."

He feels this emotion making its way from his heart to his throat, strangely reminiscent of the way he felt when a 2 year old Thea tried to call "Ollie" for the first time (it seems like a lifetime ago, but is one of his strongest and most precious memories), but also something different. He cleared his throat, trying to dismiss that feeling and was about to flippantly ask her if she didn't just want ice cream for herself. But he looked at her hopeful little face again and could not bring himself to do that, not when she was being so honest and sincere; genuinely wanting to be his friend and know about him and hoping that he would want to be her friend too. And he got it, why everyone he had met in the last week- all the people who interacted frequently with this little girl- were so attached to and fond of her. She had such a big and warm heart, and with all that innocent caring and acceptance staring you in the face, how could anyone want anything other than to let her into their heart as well. So he smiled at her, hoping he could convey all the warmth she had brought up in him, "Thank you for your consideration Joanna, but I don't really have a girlfriend. And if you're the ice cream sharing kind, I would love to be friends with you!"

She giggled as she countered, "We can only be friends if you answer right. What's your favorite ice cream flavour?"

He tilted his head, pretending to think hard about this very important question. "Is the right answer: mint chocolate chip?"

She clapped her hands, jumping up and down in her seat, almost making him panic and jump out of his own seat when she looked like she was about to fall off. But she stayed on her stool, not even bothered as she excitedly told him, "That's my and Mommy's favorite flavour too." Then she decreed with a firm nod of her head, "Okay, we can be friends."

They sat in silence for a few moments, her brows were furrowed again as she moved her gaze from him to her papers a few times. He moved to put his glass in the sink while she focusedly stared at the papers in front of her. He could almost hear her mind whirring, wondering what she was contemplating with such concentration. She finally seemed to have reached a conclusion if the big smile and decisive nod of her head were anything to go by. She looked up at him with this glint in her eye and her smile still firmly on her face, now tinged with a bit of mischief. He wondered if he should be scared about what she had in store for him, and with her next words he knew that it wasn't going to bode well for him. "So now that we're friends, you have to answer all my other questions."

"You have _more_ questions?"

She looked at him as though _he_ was the one not getting it, "Yeah. I have _lots_. We can start with your health. Do you have any allergies or sickness?"

Yeah he was screwed, he had a feeling that he'd be experiencing one of the most intrusive interrogations of his life. And all the training and practice he'd received on staying silent during questioning were going to be wasted in the face of the seemingly innocent questions asked by his six year old 'interrogator'. "No, I don't have any allergies. And I'm not sick, I wouldn't be working if I was sick or it could infect you too."

"Not that kind of sick. The other kind of sick- the one where people die." She mumbled the last part, her face scrunching up, not very fond of the idea that people got sick and died.

He answered most of her questions, alternating between trying not to laugh and utter incredulity at her persistent and prying efforts. She seemed oddly interested in his and his family's medical history, making sure that they didn't have any fatal illnesses, repeatedly asking him 'will it make you (or them) die?' He wondered if all kids had such a morbid sense of curiosity or if it was just her.

She questioned him about his hobbies and what he liked to do in his spare time. He figured what constituted as fun in his playboy days or in his time in the army would probably not be suitable to tell kids, so he said something about watching sports and mainly liking baseball and hockey. The face she made at his answer was absolutely hilarious and made him laugh out loud. He even surprised himself with his reaction but she didn't seem to notice. He managed to turn around some of the questions on her and from her answers he figured out that she was used to spending a lot of time with her 'extended family' and had a whole bunch of adventures with each of them, learning about or helping them with their jobs. When she asked him about his job as a bodyguard and whether he liked it and what he had to do, he thought he had managed to successfully change the topic from _him_ to his job. But of course she was not to be deterred, as soon as she was done assessing his answers, she went back to her previous line of questioning, this time jumping into wanting to know more about his family. So he told her about his parents, Raisa, Thea and also Tommy. When he told her that his parents owned a company, she immediately had follow-up questions.

"Your parents have a company? What is it called?"

"Queen Consolidated."

"Queen Cons...li-ted?" She blushed when it didn't come out sounding right.

"Con-so-li-da-ted. Try again, you'll get it right"

"Queen Con-so-li-da-ted", she repeated, elongating each syllable. "Is it a big company like my Mommy's? Do they have a big building too?"

"Yeah they have a pretty big building, and they've been around for longer than your mom's company so they're a bit bigger."'

"Your name is on a building too? That's just like me!" Then she looks downcast as she admits, "Some kids at school are mean to me because of that… Mommy and Gramma says that I shouldn't listen to them. That I should think about how our company helps lot of people and that I have other nice friends. Gramma says that I should be proud of mommy because having her own building means Mommy is very smart."

He inhales sharply when he hears about other kids bullying her. That was a harsh reality he had faced when he was younger too. Everyone knew his family was rich and unless he flashed his money around he never could get others to befriend him. It was hard to care about or make actual friends when you were very aware that you had bought them. He wondered if glaring extra hard at any of those little twerps on Monday would be helpful for her. Maybe if they knew he had her back, they wouldn't mess with her. He didn't want to scare off any potential friends though, so he wondered if there was a subtle way to find out who was being mean to her. "When I was younger, I used to have kids being mean to me too, because of my parents' company. But I always had Tommy, he was my best friend and would always cheer me up or stand up for me. And we would have fun together and just ignore all the mean things people said. Like you have Marley. Your mom and grandma are right, you shouldn't listen to them," he consoled her.

"Yeah, Marley is my _bestest_ friend in the whole world. Is Tommy your bestest friend in the whole world?"

"He was. He… Um… He died some years back."

"Oh!" Her eyes started watering, "You must be very sad."

"I was. I was very sad when he died, the saddest I've ever been. But it was a long time back and I'm still sad sometimes, but its also okay now." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he said that. It was true though, Tommy's death had hurt worse than anything he had ever experienced. Even the most painful injury he had sustained, while on a Special Forces mission, could not compare. What possibly hurt more were the constant what-ifs that surrounded his best friend's death, what if he had done something- just one little thing- differently. Would he still be alive? Greeting him with a huge smile and hug, making fun of him for taking a job where he was kind of babysitting a six year old?

She still looked very shaken, so he said, "But I have so many good memories with Tommy too. He was like my brother and was always at my house. I remember this one time, Thea had broken her leg because she fell off her horse. She was really upset that she couldn't go out and see him, so Tommy and I tried to entertain her and cheer her up however we could. We tried all her favorite Disney movies, let her play dress-up with us as her dolls but nothing worked. So we finally decided that we were gonna bring the horse to her, if that was the only thing that would make her happy. So when everyone was busy with something, we tried to smuggle the horse into the house, but of course my mother caught us. She was furious but it was worth it because Thea couldn't stop laughing."

"Wow," she said, her eyes opened wide in wonder. He chuckled at that.

He didn't know where that came from. It'd been such a long time since he could think of Tommy without thinking of all the grief and loss. But Tommy had been part of almost all the good memories in his life, and sometimes that got lost or forgotten while he wallowed. If he were here, he'd probably hit him upside the head for associating his memory with pain rather than the happy times.

This was too much, this all just felt like too much at once. In the duration of one conversation he'd been hit by so many questions, feelings, memories- just so much. It was all so intense and he needed some space, some time to get it all back under wraps. To get himself under control. He'd opened himself up and let things in again and now he was worried that it would all come crashing down on him. Again. This was the second time this week itself that this was happening to him, and this time was even more intense. He needed to think about it, seriously think about whether he wanted to or actually _could_ continue working here with the Smoaks. He was getting swept away by all the emotions he had suppressed for so long, it was being brought out by both Joanna and Felicity. There are so many reasons he should quit this job now, while he still could. Before he formed too much of an attachment and compromised his professionalism.

He remembered last week when he had first met Felicity. After that interview and after she had agreed to hire him, he had asked to instate a one week trial period in his contract, to ensure that all parties would be comfortable with the arrangement. The real reason had been that coming off being fired due to his client's overeager wife, and after Felicity's babble commenting on his looks, he hadn't wanted to take a chance. He had just met her then, hadn't known what to expect and wary that it could become a problematic pattern. And while he had no problems with Felicity anymore- she was respectful and professional and if she slipped up, it was accidental- or with Joanna for that matter, he was still within his one week of trial. He could quit if he felt that his working ability could be hindered, he could recommend someone else and he knew there'd be no hard feelings from Felicity. But could he actually do it or rather did he _want_ to leave? Because for as many reasons as there were to quit, there were quite a few reasons to stay as well. He wanted to ensure Joanna's safety, he knew he was good at his job and he knew they needed him. And maybe he needed them… No. Not _them_ , it. He needed it, this letting go and accepting some of his feelings and pain.

There were so many thoughts whirling around in his head, he needed them to stop so that he could take his time to consider all his options. But he couldn't do that here, he needed the space and distance from the people who could elicit all this intense emotion.

Just as he was contemplating how to sort this whole mess in his head out, he heard Felicity come stumbling down the stairs. She headed straight for the coffeemaker, hitting the on button and getting herself a cup. She took a few sips before she fully opened her eyes and smiled at him and Joanna, greeting them with a "Good Morning."

He gave her a tight smile, while she walked over to her daughter and kissed her on the head, Joanna chirping back a "Good Morning." She took a seat next to Joanna, her eyes widening when she looked up and saw his face more clearly. He didn't know what she saw there, whether she saw him freaking out in his head or could just make out his desperation to escape. Whatever it was, she picked up on it pretty quick.

"Oliver, you don't… Do you…" She took a breath and collected herself, "Why don't you take a few hours off? Joanna and I will be at home, nothing too exciting planned for today so we should be good for a while. You've been stuck with us all week, I'm sure you could use a bit of a break."

Joanna looked like she was about to protest, but Felicity just ruffled her hair and warded it off with, "What? You don't want to spend time with your mom anymore? I know I'm not as cool as Oliver but I thought I was pretty cool." Felicity poked and tickled Joanna a little, the little girl squirming and giggling and sufficiently distracted by everything she had to do or show her mother.

He was still unsure, escaping for a few hours- while he's on the clock- because his head was a mess was not actually professional, and it must have shown on his face. Felicity smiled reassuringly at him, a compassionate look in her eyes, "Really Oliver, we'll be fine. We have the best security system and you can make sure everything is in place before you leave. I can have the office security company send over a guard for a few hours if it makes you more comfortable. Take some time."

He was filled with gratitude at her understanding. She seemed to have recognized his struggle almost immediately and found a solution so he could have exactly what he needed. The kindness and concern in her eyes making him feel a bit more settled. He decided to accept her offer. "Thank you." He hoped he conveyed exactly how much he meant it.

She just smiled back in response.


End file.
